Nerissa Ilirran
Abilities This isn't an ability she can control. Nerissa has two forms, her natural Ondine form and her Human form. So long as she remains on land, she will retain her human form. However, should her body touch saltwater, that part of her body will return to her Ondine form, growing scales and sometimes fins. Should she submerge entirely, like if she jumped in the ocean, she would return completely to her Ondine form, tail and all. Omni-linguism Nerissa has the ability to learn any language around her, by kissing someone who knows that language fluently. While handy, this ability can also have some drawbacks. She has learned that not everyone in this world appreciates being kissed by surprise. Also, it must be a full on kiss, taking a long enough period of time to fully copy the language into her own brain. This takes about ten seconds. The language must also have been the last language they used. If someone speaks German and Russian, she will only take the last language they spoke in. Upon her arrival to Earth, she has learned English, Spanish, and French. Echolocation (Full Ondine Form only) While swimming through the ocean depths, Nerissa uses Echolocation to see her surroundings more clearly. As the light in the ocean must come from above, the deeper you go, the darker it becomes. While Nerissa can use her eyes, her echolocation helps to paint a picture in her mind of what's going on further ahead of her. Accelerated Healing While in the ocean Nerissa only needs to worry about predators bigger and faster then she is, and since the Shift that hasn't been much. On land her healing ability is directly related to how much salt water she consumes. Sometimes even just pouring salt water over a wound will heal it, though the deeper and more fatal the wound, the more actually ingesting the salt water will help. Water Breathing No matter which form she's in, Nerissa can breath underwater. She actually has two sets of lungs, and both are needed to survive. Even in the ocean she must still filter out the oxygen from the water. Another reason she drinks salt water is to fill her water lungs. While she can use these lungs to breath in fresh water as well, she cannot do it for longer then a few hours before salt deprivation begins to kill her. Oceanic Mammal Empathy This ability only works on mammals who live in the sea, such as dolphins and whales. She cannot know exactly what they are thinking, but she can focus enough to learn whether or not they are in pain, or happy, or missing their offspring. Siren's Allure Nerissa is unable to turn this ability off. This simply means that the Male sex will feel almost instantly entranced by her. This hold is not as strong as if she were an actual Siren and it is possible to be snapped out of it. It does in crease with direct eye contact. Simply someone waving their hand in front of the entranced' face is enough to break the hold. Biological Profile Appearance Nerissa's human form stands at 5'6" tall. She is very athletic with blonde hair and Hazel eyes. Nerissa's Ondine form is covered in small interlocking blue and green scales. They act as a sort of armor, protecting her from the pressure of the ocean depths, and also from low impact strikes. Sharp objects like knives can puncture through with a bit of effort and she has no protection against bullets. In this form her hazel eyes change to a blueish green to match her scales. Her nails grow longer, resembling claws. Her teeth also change, becoming sharper, betraying her predator like nature. Small fins run along the outside of her arms, which she uses to stabilize herself and steer while swimming. Her powerful tail is all muscle, ending in a fluke which might be mistaken for a small whale's. Personal Belongings Nerissa keeps nothing for longer then she has need of it. It is only after the Shift brought her to Earth that she has even seen the need to leave the water and spend time in her human form. Personality The first impression of Nerissa can be one of cold calculation. It is a rare thing to see Nerissa smile, or even show emotion at all. Sometimes this can even come off as fierce or bitchy. Nerissa simply sees herself as above the humans, and only interacts with them when she has no other choice. In her world, humans were nothing but cold killers and food. On Earth, finding herself alone and free of her Queen's grip, Nerissa has decided to learn all she can about her new home. The humans of this world are far more advanced then those of her's, and she is beginning to respect them as equals on the food chain. Technology is still very new to her, and the thought of so much electricity constantly surrounding her makes her skin crawl. For those humans with extra abilities, Nerissa seems to think of them much as she thinks of herself, a higher evolution worthy of respect. History Nerissa was not born on Earth, but in an alternate universe. She is known as an Ondine in her world, or a Mermaid here on Earth. Her life before the Shift was spent serving the Ondine Queen. The Queen held an almost tyrannical grip over her subjects, forcing them to expand their territory further and further. Nerissa helped patrol the Oceanic territory that already belonged to the Ondine, keeping it free from human interference. The Queen's need for more power and territory sparked a powder keg of hate from the humans, starting a brutal war. The Ondine were long lived, the Queen herself had celebrated her 900th birthday before the Shift. Nerissa remembered the peace of the last Queen's rule, and had always resented the New queen when she'd taken power shortly after Nerissa turned two hundred. Then the Shift came, and suddenly, Nerissa found herself in waters that smelled and tasted completely different, with new forms of life she'd never seen. While before she had always been surrounded by the comfort of her sister's, now she found herself alone. For the first months of her new life she searched the vast oceans for signs of her former life, for signs of her sisters. Coming close to land, to what she would later understand was called Miami, Nerissa decided to risk everything and chance showing herself to a human. She approached a small fishing vessel in the dead of night, the two passengers were involved in a game of cards on deck and both were completely shocked when a beautiful woman suddenly appeared on their port side. Using her unearthly allure, Nerissa managed to entrance one of them close enough to kiss her. This gave her his language, so that she could speak to him. But before she could initiate a conversation properly, the other caught sight of her tail and raised the alarm, breaking the trance with the human and forcing her to flee. Onward she traveled, venturing onto land in the dead of night to find out everything she could about this new world she found herself trapped in. Her mind became a sponge of information, she found she liked learning. She ventured into conversations with other humans, this time in her human form, and learned all she could from them. These encounters were usually with males, as she could entrance them to speak with her. Eventually, she made the decision to join what the humans called a university. She hungered to learn more, her freedom from war had awoken in her a new need, knowledge. This bit was quite complicated at first, but was soon solved when Nerissa met an elder gentlemen walking the beach near his mansion one night. She used her charm to entrance him, captivating him into falling in love with her. Upon his death a few weeks later, Nerissa was able to walk away with almost his entire fortune as an internet mogul, as well as an identity thanks to his connections in the world. She then moved to New York to attend Berkley College. While she has yet to decide on a major, her grades and her generous donations, keep her in good standing. She keeps her true nature a secret, knowing the humans didn't seem to have much tolerance for things they saw as different. Relationships Allies Enemies Time Line December 21st, 2012 Nerissa is suddenly brought to Earth during the shift. (No Thread) April 15th 2014 Waterworld In which Nerissa runs into Cithe Saharen and they stir up some mischief. May 14th, 2014California Dreaming In which Nerissa decides to play a joke on Raif and they end up changing each others futures. June 2, 2014 Quiet Night, Fright Night In which Nerissa makes some new friends during a night on the town. On Hold June 10th, 2014Just Keep Swimming In which Nerissa goes on vacation in Africa and ends up finding more entertainment then she bargained for in the form of Charlie Stark. June 12th, 2014Research and Other Activities In which Nerissa goes to the library and finds an emotional tie she can't explain to Alistair Greene. Friend? Or more? Completed June 16th, 2014Peace and Quiet In which Nerissa and Altair Renaud run into each other on the beach. Completed June 20th, 2014Down By The Sea Nerissa finds one of her new friends, Mason Price, while down at the beach. Completed June 20th, 2014 Of Sea and Shore *AC Warning* In which Nerissa and Mason...get to know each other better. July 5th, 201420,000 Leagues Under The Sea In which Nerissa follows Lysander Lecter and shows him that he really isn't the scariest murderer out there. On Hold July 6th, 2014 Promise Kept In Which a female Alistair pays Neri a visit and brings her presents! July 10th, 2014 An Ondine and a Dragon Walk into a Store In which Neri takes Amelia shopping and they run into Alistair...and Adeline...and Lorenzo...and London. July 25th, 2014 Blood in the Fountain of Life In which Nerissa rushes to help Jocelyn. Trivia Category:Characters Category:Otherworld Category:Veil Crossers